Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute

Last updated
Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute
Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute logo, April 2018.jpg
Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute
Geography
Location33 Medical Center Drive [1] , Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
Coordinates 39°39′12″N79°57′36″W / 39.653290°N 79.960080°W / 39.653290; -79.960080
Organization
Type Research
Affiliated university West Virginia University
History
Opened1999
Links
Website wvumedicine.org/rni
Lists Hospitals in West Virginia
Blanchette Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute BlanchetteRockefellerNeurosciencesInstitute.jpg
Blanchette Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute


The Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute is an independent, non-profit institution focused on the study of human memory and memory diseases. Founded in 1999, [2] the institute is part of the West Virginia University Medicine Health Sciences Campus, located in Morgantown, West Virginia. [3] [4] [5] The institute is one of the world's leading research centers focusing on innovative procedures to treat Alzheimer's disease and to expand clinical, research and academic missions of neurosurgery, neurology, behavioral medicine, psychiatry and other neuroscience issues. [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Contents

History

In 1999, United States Senator John Davison "Jay" Rockefeller IV and members of the Rockefeller family funded the formation of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute on the campus of West Virginia University. The institute was named in honor of Blanchette Ferry Rockefeller, his late mother, who died in 1992 following a ten-year battle with Alzheimer's disease. [2] By 2001, the Rockefeller family had committed $15 million to the institute, which inspired many additional donors to support the facility and its efforts to accelerate discovery of treatments and cures for neurological and psychiatric diseases. [11] The $15 million gift was the founding endowment for the institute to establish the world's first major research institute focused on the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure of neurological, psychiatric, and other cognitive disorders affecting the human brain, with an emphasis on Alzheimer's disease. [12]

In 2016, the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute was acquired by and consolidated under West Virginia University and renamed Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. [13] [14]

In 2018, the institute opened four state-of-the-art SMART neurosurgery operating rooms at its main campus to expand its capabilities in epilepsy surgery and deep brain stimulation. [15]

Leadership

In 2017, West Virginia University President E. Gordon Gee announced the appointment of board-certified neurosurgeon Ali Rezai to lead the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and oversee its efforts to develop solutions for neurological and psychiatric conditions. [16] [17] As executive chair of the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and the John D. Rockefeller IV Chair in neuroscience, Rezai is recognized as a pioneer [18] [19] [20] in neuromodulation technologies to treat Parkinson's disease, obsessive–compulsive disorder, Alzheimer's disease and traumatic brain injury. [16] [21] [22]

Rezai formerly served as director of Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center's Neurological Institute, where he pioneered the use of neuromodulation technologies to treat Parkinson's disease, depression, obsessive– compulsive disorder and traumatic brain injury. [23]

Clinical trials

Alzheimer's

On October 16, 2018, a retired nurse diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease became the world's first person to undergo a Phase II clinical trial at the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute of a new procedure using ultrasound waves to slow the effects of Alzheimer's. [24] [25] [26] The procedure, requiring no incisions into the brain, applied a new use of an ultrasound helmet, called Exablate Neuro, with 1,022 probes combined with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to deliver low-intensity ultrasound waves that converge to target the hippocampus. [27]

Chronic Pain & Opioid Use

On November 15, 2018, the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute at West Virginia University became the first site in the nation to enroll a patient in a randomized Phase III clinical trial to reduce opioid use for chronic pain. [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] The patient was injected in the lower back with a non-opioid, non-steroid clonidine micropellet to treat sciatica pain for up to one year. The trial marked an effort to reduce opioid use in West Virginia and the nation for chronic pain. [31] [33] [34] Per capita, West Virginia has the highest number of opioid-addicted individuals. [35]

On November 1, 2019, the institute's Executive Chair Dr. Ali Rezai surgically implanted a deep brain stimulator chip into the nucleus accumbens part of the human brain to reduce human cravings for drugs, particularly opioids. [36] This marked the first time that deep brain stimulation was performed in the United States for drug addiction. West Virginia has the highest age-adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths involving opioids in the US, with a rate of 49.6 deaths per 100,000 persons in 2017, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. [37]

Sleep

In May 2018, the institute began a clinical trial on sleep cycles with Thrive Global, the wellness company founded by Arianna Huffington. [38]

Curriculum

In April 2019, the West Virginia University Board of Governors created a new Department of Neuroscience in its School of Medicine to consolidate neuroscience education in neurology, neurosurgery, behavioral medicine and psychiatry and advance research in brain health and brain disorders. [39]

Campus

The Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute is located on West Virginia University's Medicine Health Sciences Campus, in Morgantown, West Virginia. Construction of the institute began on May 1, 2006, at an initial cost of $30 million to build a state-of-the-art, four-story multidisciplinary laboratory space and administrative offices for 40 research scientists and 200 total employees. [40] The institute's 87,000 square foot building was designed by Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott of Boston, Massachusetts. [41] In 2019, a $25 million renovation was begun to expand the institute's research infrastructure. [15]

On April 23, 2019, the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute announced the opening of its new Innovation Center that is a dedicated building focused on the use of advanced technology for rapid applied human research in neuromodulation, virtual reality and neuroscience predictive data analytics.

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References

  1. ↑ https://rni.wvumedicine.org/memoryhealthclinic/
  2. 1 2 McCormick, Liz (29 May 2014). "Senator Rockefeller, Honored in Fight Against Alzheimer's". Wvpublic.org.
  3. ↑ Conor Griffith. "WVU Medicine growing and recruiting to meet challenges". Wvnews.com.
  4. ↑ Wendy Holdren. "Researchers study how lighting impacts patient recovery". Beckley Register-Herald.
  5. ↑ "Pellet Carrying Blood Pressure Medication Offers New Hope For Sciatica Patients". February 21, 2019.
  6. ↑ "WVU's Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute leads breakthrough on Alzheimer's treatment". Wvnews.com.
  7. ↑ "Researchers succesfully[sic] open blood-brain barrier with focused ultrasound in Alzheimer's patient". Health Imaging.
  8. ↑ John Dahlia. "Historic breakthrough: WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience team first to use ultrasound to treat Alzheimer's". Wvnews.com.
  9. ↑ Matyola, Marisa (November 2, 2018). "WVU performs promising new Alzheimer's Therapy". WBOY.
  10. ↑ "Research Project Appears To Be Reversing Effects Of Alzheimer's". Philadelphia.cbslocal.com. February 27, 2019.
  11. ↑ "The Rockefeller Family and the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute | WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute". September 7, 2018. Archived from the original on September 7, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute Receives $15 Million Gift". Philanthropy News Digest (PND). Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  13. ↑ "West Virginia University to acquire neuroscience facility". Apnews.com. August 2, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Neuroscience | School of Medicine | West Virginia University". Medicine.hsc.wvu.edu.
  15. 1 2 "Our Facilities and Future Growth". Wvumedicine.org. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  16. 1 2 "WVU Forms New Neuroscience Institute". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  17. ↑ "Gordon Gee has REcruited 5 Execs from Ohio State". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  18. ↑ Baird, Gabriel (12 June 2009). "Dr. Ali Rezai, pioneering Cleveland Clinic neurosurgeon, taking Ohio State University post". Cleveland.com.
  19. ↑ "Ogio State Neurosurgeon Ali Rezai Leaving for West". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  20. ↑ "Photos Inside the Operating Room with Ohio States". Bizjournals.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  21. ↑ "West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute Pioneers Promising New Alzheimer's Therapy". August 6, 2015.
  22. ↑ John Dahlia. "Team responsible for Alzheimer's breakthrough is named NCWV Media 'West Virginian of the Year'". Wvnews.com.
  23. ↑ Murray, Brittany (24 November 2017). "New WVU Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute director brings plans for new research, clinical trials". Wajr.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  24. ↑ Dahlia, John. "Historic breakthrough: WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience team first to use ultrasound to treat Alzheimer's". Wvnews.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  25. ↑ "'Historic breakthrough Alzheimer patients around the globe have been awaiting'". HealthNewsReview.org. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  26. ↑ "First procedure in trial for Alzheimer's treatment performed at WVU". Wdtv.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  27. ↑ "Battling Alzheimer's through Better Access to the Brain". Blogs.scientificamerican.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  28. ↑ "WVU tackles opioid crisis with clinical trial of injectable non-opioid micropellets to treat sciatica pain". January 7, 2019.
  29. ↑ "Experimental New Treatment Showing Promise For Those Who Suffer From Sciatica". February 19, 2019.
  30. ↑ Dahlia, John. "WVU leading nation with potentially 'game changing' opioid addiction, Alzheimer's research". Wvnews.com.
  31. 1 2 Lori Kersey. "WVU researchers test non-opioid treatment for common back pain". Charleston Gazette-Mail .
  32. ↑ "West Virginia University first to launch clinical trial utilizing non-opioid micropellet". EurekAlert!.
  33. ↑ "Neuroscience Institute at WVU launches trial on implant for chronic pain". The Herald-Dispatch.
  34. ↑ "Pellet Carrying Blood Pressure Medication Offers New Hope For Sciatica Patients". Newyork.cbslocal.com. 21 February 2019. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  35. ↑ "Can West Virginia Solve America's Healthcare Problems?". Fortune.com.
  36. ↑ "Deep brain stimulation is being tested to treat opioid addiction". The Washington Post. 2019-11-06. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  37. ↑ "Man has chip placed in his head to help tackle opioid addiction". Independent.co.uk . 7 November 2019.
  38. ↑ "Can West Virginia Solve America's Healthcare Problems?". Fortune.com. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  39. ↑ WVMetroNews (20 April 2018). "WVU Board of Governors approves creation of neuroscience department". WV MetroNews. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  40. ↑ "WVUToday Archive". Wvutoday-archive.wvu.edu. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  41. ↑ "West Virginia University to acquire neuroscience facility". Apnews.com. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
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